Diwali 2025: Chaos at Railway Stations Day Before Festival as Passengers Scramble for Trains

Chennai's railway stations, bus stands, and highways witnessed massive crowds during Diwali, as thousands of people travelled to their hometowns. Travel began as early as October 16, making it one of the city's busiest travel weekends of the year. People were travelling to celebrate the festival with family and friends.

Railway stations are witnessing massive crowds ahead of Diwali. People were seen scrambling to board trains. In view of the festival, thousands of people from Chennai began their journey home from October 16, marking one of the city's busiest travel weekends of the year.

Bus stands, railway stations, and highways saw huge crowds as people headed to their hometowns to celebrate the festival with family and friends.

Special Bus Arrangements for Passengers

To manage the surge, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) arranged a total of 20,378 special bus services from Chennai to various districts across the state.

In addition to the regular fleet of 2,092 buses, 2,834 special buses were put into service daily, transporting thousands of passengers to southern and western districts.

Number of Passengers Travelled

According to official figures, 6,15,992 passengers travelled in government buses from Chennai in the last three days alone. The transport department stated that on Saturday, 4,926 buses (including both regular and special services) transported approximately 2,56,152 passengers.

Despite the additional services, most bus stands, including Koyambedu, Madhavaram, and Tambaram, remained congested, with passengers having to wait for hours to board buses.

Passengers Stood on Trains

Chennai Central, Egmore, and Tambaram railway stations also saw similar crowds, with all trains heading south being fully packed. Trains to southern districts were heavily crowded, and many passengers had to stand for the entire journey.

Railway officials reported that most Diwali special trains were fully booked several days in advance. Meanwhile, the number of private vehicles on main highways like GST Road added to the congestion.

Long Queues of Cars

Long queues of cars were bumper-to-bumper, leading to extremely slow traffic from Tambaram to Chengalpattu.

Waiting times at toll plazas in Paranur, Singaperumal Koil, and Perungalathur exceeded an hour, with heavy traffic reported late into the night.

1.8 Million People Travelled

According to official estimates from the transport department, approximately 1.8 million people have travelled from Chennai to their hometowns to celebrate Diwali.

Of these, 9.5 lakh travelled by train, 6.15 lakh by government buses, around two lakh by other buses, and 1.5 lakh by private cars.

With millions of people leaving the city, Chennai experienced an almost deserted atmosphere on Saturday evening and Sunday. Roads that are usually bustling with activity became quiet.